PRESS RELEASE
Guillaume Kurek appointed CEO of Grande Côte Operations (GCO)
Guillaume Kurek has been appointed CEO of GCO, effective August 12, 2021. The Grande Côte mineral sands mine, a Senegalese subsidiary of Eramet, is located north of Dakar on a concession approximately 100 kilometers in length. Its industrial facilities include a dredge and a floating concentration unit, a plant for separating the heavy minerals obtained from ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene, and zircon, a power plant, a railroad line for which the company holds the concession, as well as port and storage facilities.
Based at the Diogo site, Guillaume Kurek’s principal responsibility will be to pursue the development of the mine and GCO’s plants while engaging in meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders. He is taking over from Benoit Robitaille, who is moving to a new position within the Group, and whose work in maintaining GCO’s strong performance in the face of a challenging health crisis deserves special praise.
Guillaume Kurek is an accomplished mining specialist who, in the course of his more than 20 years with Eramet, has acquired extensive knowledge of the Group and its challenges, particularly in the areas of safety and stakeholder dialogue, which are two of the Group’s priorities.
Guillaume Kurek has spent his entire career with Eramet, starting in 1998 as a Geologist at SLN before joining COMILOG in 1999 as a Quality Manager, before becoming a Geological Engineer. Upon his return to SLN in 2005, he held a series of operational positions: Geologist, Operations Manager, followed by Mining Center Manager. Between 2014 and 2018, he worked as HR Manager at SLN and then as Director of the improvement plan, which resulted in a 25% reduction in the company’s cash costs.
Since January 2018, he has served as SLN’s Director of Mining and in this capacity has been instrumental in implementing the company’s new business model, which includes a threefold increase in ore exports over the period 2018-2021.
Guillaume Kurek holds a post-graduate degree in mining resources engineering from the French National Superior School of Geology (ENSG). He also holds a degree in mining exploration and development from the French National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine (INPL).
GCO Internal Communications Department
Tel: + 221 33 869 3181
Fax: + 221 33 860 3683
GCO-Communications@eramet.com
